Daily Life with a Monster Girl at Hinata Inn Scenarios
by Raja-Ulat
Summary: This is a series of possible scenarios when Hinata House is inhabited by not only humans girls, but also monster girls. Will Keitaro be able to survive the inevitable chaos that will follow? (supposed to be a crossover with Daily Life with a Monster Girl and was originally a challenge that I thought of before I decided to write down some scenes)


**Daily Life with a Monster Girl at Hinata House**

MAJOR Disclaimer: This is an idea of mine, which can be adopted by others who wish to write it as a completed story instead of a series of scenes/drabbles, after reading "Love Hina" and "Daily Life with Monster Girl". As such, I have nothing material to earn from this and own nothing of the two series except for my idea. In addition, while I am well aware that this is a Love Hina crossover fanfiction with Daily Life with a Monster Girl but, due to the lack of people visiting that particular fanfiction crossover category, I'm posting this story in the Love Hina section instead to spread the idea around and I appreciate your kind understanding. Also, please note that this originally started out as a challenge which I had already posted in the crossover section before I decided to write down some possible situations which the main male character of Love Hina, Urashima Keitaro, would face at Hinata Inn with the monster girls as additional residents.

**Situation No.1: Morning Embrace**

Urashima Keitaro, a seemingly unremarkable young man with dark-brown hair and eyes as well as a large pair of square spectacles, was unable to leave his bed in spite of the fact that he was supposed to wake up early as he was the manager of the Hinata House, a building which was once an inn owned by his grandmother, Urashima Hinata, before she converted it into an all-girl's dorm and then made him its manager. Then again, most people will agree that it would probably take superhuman strength for him to even wiggle out of bed as he was currently in the serpentine embrace of a red-scaled lamia with long red hair and scaly pointed ears known as Miia.

After the discovery of monster-kind roughly a year ago, an exchange program was recently implemented to allow the peaceful integration of monsters into the human world and vice-versa. However, not all monsters were readily welcomed as was the case of Miaa due to her half-snake nature which put off the majority of her prospective host families. Somehow gaining the attention of Urashima Hinata through an acquaintance that managed the exchange program, Miia was instead taken in by the Urashima family and was sent to Hinata House to live alongside with the other girls that live in the dorm, and the one male manager of the inn. It was during her first day at the inn, while most of the other girls were away since the place was being renovated at a rather fast rate to accommodate the lamia, when Keitaro met her and treated her kindly by accepting her in an awkward but otherwise sincerely friendly manner despite having the lower body of a snake. In fact, he actually showed concern for her vulnerability towards cold due to being a poikilothermic monster which convinced Miaa that he was a trustworthy individual. It was not long after Miia made that realization when the other girls returned to the inn and were introduced to her. What Keitaro did not know was that lamiae are passionate by nature hence his current predicament as Miia actually snuck into his room and cuddled onto him during her first night at the inn.

Panicking, which is justified as he had never received such open and bold affection from a female before never mind the abuse that he had already received from the two more aggressive humans girls in the Hinata House during his first week as their manager, Keitaro whispered at Miia, "Miia, wake up!"

Moaning, Miia replied as she tightened her hold onto Keitaro, "Just five more minutes… no, five more degrees…"

Well aware that Miaa is poikilothermic, Keitaro nevertheless spoke, "Please, just wake up and go to the hot spring! You're not supposed to be here, or hugging me like this!"

Opening one eye to reveal a golden iris with a snake-like pupil, Miia curiously asked, "Why, the rules of the exchange program never said that we can't cuddle." Inwardly, the lamia added, "And no one ever said that we need to tell them if we had done anything more… intimate."

"Well… that's because…"

"K-E-I-T-A-R-O-!"

Keitaro would only cringe as he recognized that terrifying tone of voice belonging to Narusegawa Naru, a beautiful young woman with long brown hair, brown eyes, and capable of sending Keitaro flying with her powerful punches. Standing beside Naru was Aoyama Motoko who is an attractive young woman with long black hair tied into a ponytail, dark eyes, and is a katana-wielding swordswoman who comes from a clan of demon-slayers. As the two most aggressive women in the entire inn, and being unreasonable towards the male manager to boot, it can be said that they are Keitaro's biggest tormentors when it comes to physical abuse at the inn.

"Care to explain this, you perverted male?" was Motoko's rhetorical question as she was already drawing her sword.

Now fully aware that Naru and Motoko intend to bring harm upon Keitaro, Miia frowned as her embrace onto Keitaro became possessively protective and said, "Why do you two want to harm Darling?"

Miia's question completely shattered the tension in the room as every human were rendered dumbstruck by the simple fact that Miia actually called Keitaro, "Darling". Never having faced a situation involving a female actively defending Keitaro from harm, even if the said female was not exactly human, all Naru could do was drop her clenched fist and intelligently ask, "Wha-?"

Getting up without fully-releasing her hold onto Keitaro, Miia repeated her question, "Why do you two want to harm Darling? He didn't do anything wrong!"

Equally flabbergasted, Motoko tried to argue, "But he laid his hands onto you…"

"No, he didn't. I came to his room last night to keep myself warm by cuddling onto him," explained Miia.

Unwilling to accept the reality that a girl, even a monster girl, would be so brazenly affectionate towards a male, Naru asked, "A-aren't you at all ashamed to be so… clingy onto him?"

"No, why should I?" asked Miia.

"B-because he's a vile perverted male!" exclaimed Motoko.

Tilting her head in obvious confusion, Miia replied, "Why do you say that? Darling is a very nice person and I won't mind if Darling wants to ecchi things with me."

Both Naru and Motoko were on the verge of an admittedly amusing mental breakdown while Keitaro mentally realized, "This… this is the first time any girl other my little sister has ever stood up to my defence…!"

Scene Change

Although it did not take long for both Naru and Motoko to be convinced that Keitaro had somehow deceived the seemingly naïve lamia, despite Miia's rather vocal denials, not all the girls in Hinata House shared their assumptions. Among them was a young teenage girl with short dark-blue hair and eyes named Maehara Shinobu who had realized that Miia was not only openly affectionate towards Keitaro but was also willing to stand her ground against those that would harm him. Awed by Miia's courage and recalling how Keitaro had recently redeemed himself in her eyes by helping everyone remember her birthday, Shinobu could not help but feel a little envious of the lamia and vowed to become braver in expressing her feelings as well. As for the other human resident of Hinata House, a young woman with short pale-brown hair and fox-like eyes named Konno Mitsune, she could not help but be amused as she knew that Miia's open affections towards Keitaro will make the situation in Hinata House quite entertaining within the near future. The final human resident, a brown-skinned teenage girl with blond hair, green eyes, and a perpetual childish blush named Kaolla Suu, she was blissfully oblivious of the new situation between Miia and Keitaro.

**Situation No.2: Abduction**

Keitaro and Miia were helping Shinobu, who had started to get along with the lamia, hang some blankets and futons to sun when he was suddenly seized by a girl who looked to be around Shinobu's age with short blue hair, red eyes, blue-feathered wings in place of arms with scaly claws for thumbs, and scaly bird claws for feet. Shocked by the sudden intrusion from above, neither Miia nor Shinobu could do anything to stop the young girl who was actually a harpy from abducting Keitaro…

Scene Change

Keitaro sighed as he, alongside with Miia, Shinobu and even Naru who quickly tried to follow him after he was abducted, escorted the ditzy harpy who introduced herself as Papi after convincing her that there was a much better place to bathe than a regular "bird pond", which was actually a water-fountain in a public park, known as a hot spring. Looking at the smiling harpy who was using her clawed wings to hold onto his arm, so as to avoid getting deported due to not having a host family yet, Keitaro thought, "She sure is carefree like Suu." He never noticed that Miia, Shinobu and Naru were staring at Papi with envy in their eyes, especially Shinobu who was certain that Papi was around her age.

Scene Change

Everyone in Hinata House, with the exception of Mitsune who was failing in her attempt to hold back her laughter and Suu who was completely oblivious, gaped dumbly at Papi as Naru asked, "What did you just call him?"

Smiling happily, Papi replied as she held onto Keitaro, "He's my husband!"

Needless to say, there were quite a few misunderstandings which resulted in Miia and even Shinobu having to protect Keitaro from excessive harm "courtesy" of Naru and Motoko, again.

Scene Change

When a young women with long black hair and dark eyes named Sumike, who is often called Ms Smith, heard about Papi choosing Keitaro to be her "husband", the exchange program coordinator quickly contacted Hinata and soon received the elder woman's approval of allowing Papi to stay at Hinata House. She then informed everyone that Papi was actually at Miia's age despite having the body of a younger girl, hence making Miia, Shinobu, and even Naru even more wary of the newcomer who may actually be using her naivety to her advantage in gaining Keitaro's affections.

**Situation No.3: Training**

Keitaro was nervous as he stood before Centaurea Shianus, a young centaur with the typical lower body of a horse and the upper body of a beautiful young woman with blond hair, blue eyes, horse ears, and a very voluptuous chest. As for the reason behind his unease, he was about to undergo his very first training session to become a western swordsman with Centaurea as his teacher. As to how it had happened, it all began from the day before…

Scene Change

Centaurea, having proclaimed that Keitaro as her master due to the fact that he protected her from harm by using his own body as a shield, was glaring at Motoko as she blocked her katana with her western broadsword in Keitaro's defence. Although not a genuine broadsword, Centaurea's weapon was sufficient to block Motoko's weapon although it was also true that Motoko was not using the razor-sharp edge of her katana, at least not fully. Shocked by the fact that another monster girl was willing to protect Keitaro, Motoko growled, "Why are you protecting this vile male?" To say that Motoko was getting frustrated latterly because of Keitaro, and the fact that his "crimes" were mostly unpunished because of Miia and even Shinobu who defended him, was a bit of an understatement for the swordswoman who loathed men.

Not taking her eyes off Motoko or relaxing her stance, Centaurea replied, "Because my honour as a knight demands it!"

Shocked, Motoko was incredulous as she asked, "Honour? Where's the honour in protecting a vile perverted male like him, one which had the audacity to leer upon your naked form earlier this morning no less?!" Indeed, in Motoko's point of view, Keitaro had just shown his true colours as a vile male by pinning down Shinobu earlier by leaping upon her.

"As I had said before, it was my own carelessness which allowed him to gaze upon my naked body by accident," explained Centaurea who recalled how she had forgotten to place the sign to indicate that the hot springs was being used by her in the early morning, thus convincing Keitaro that the place was unused and can be cleaned by the usually-unwelcomed male member of the inn. While a horse-kick in the face after seeing a naked Centaurea is hardly unusual to Keitaro who had to put up with Naru's powerful punches, what really surprised him was that Centaurea actually apologized to him for harming him over and accident which was never his own fault to begin with. When asked why she would even bother to apologize, Centaurea simply explained, "My honour as a knight demands that I apologize to my Master for harming him over an accident that was caused by my own careless mistake."

Gritting her teeth, Motoko yelled, "And what of this present situation? How can you explain his actions over Shinobu?"

"In case you haven't noticed, Master was falling off the stairs when he landed onto Shinobu-san. As Suu is present at the staircase even as we speak, and knowing Suu's odd habits, it is reasonable to assume that she had kicked Master down the stairs in greeting, thus leading to the situation you speak of," said Centaurea who then glared at Suu and asked, "Isn't that right, Kaolla Suu?"

Taken aback by Centaurea's statement, Motoko glanced at Suu who wilted under Centaurea's stern gaze and admitted, "I… did kick Keitaro just now."

Unable to deny the fact that Suu does have a habit of greeting Keitaro by kicking him, Motoko unwillingly withdrew from Centaurea while the centaur continued to glare at Suu and said, "I believe that you owe at least two people an apology for your childish actions which had caused them harm?"

While childish and generally oblivious to the concerns of other people, Suu knew that she had somehow crossed the line after seeing Centaura's stern expression, which was helped by the fact that she towers over most humans in terms of height, as she bowed and apologized to Keitaro and Shinobu, "Sorry!"

Shinobu, being gentle by nature, and actually not minding having Keitaro pin her down as she was now bolder than before ever since she became friends with Miia and the other monster girls, smiled reassuringly at Suu and said, "That's alright, just don't kick Sempai every time you see him, it's not very nice to do that to someone whom you like."

Scratching the back of his head, Keitaro added, "Like what Shinobu-chan said."

Satisfied that Suu had learnt her lesson, at least for the day, Centaurea turned her attention to Motoko and said, "Now, I believe that you owe my Master and apology as well."

Shocked, Motoko asked, "Wha-, why would I even consider apologizing to this pathetic dishonourable male who needs women to protect him?!"

Raising an eyebrow, Centaurea said, "You did try to attack him, a man innocent of this current misunderstanding caused by Suu, with your weapon. Also, even I know that he never trained in the ways of combat and is thus defenceless against you, a woman who is supposed to be an honourable samurai from a clan of heroic demon slayers."

Caught between a rock and a hard place, it took all of Motoko's self-control to sheathe her weapon and bow rigidly as she spoke through clenched teeth, "I… I… apologize for misinterpreting the situation."

After Motoko unwillingly apologized and quickly left together with Suu who clung onto her like a koala, Centaurea turned her attention to Keitaro and said, "While I do not agree with Motoko's claims that you're pathetically dishonourable, I do feel that you would benefit from undergoing some combat training with me so that you could better defend yourself and anyone whom you hold dear from enemy threats. Not everyone can be reasoned with and I cannot always be present to protect you, Master. Besides, I'm sure that you could benefit from some physical exercise."

Unable to disagree with Centaurea, Keitaro agreed to undergo training with her as his teacher…

Scene Change

Keitaro was gasping for breath like a gulping fish as Centaurea sighed and said, "While your body is certainly sturdier and more agile than expected, which would explain how you can put up with Miia, Naru and Motoko up until now, you'll need a lot more training before you can even call yourself a junior squire." Let it be said that Miia has a tendency to hug Keitaro too tightly, of the bone-breaking variety, whenever she forgets about her physical strength while Naru and Motoko tend to be aggressively unreasonable towards Keitaro. Holding onto Keitaro's hand to help him get back onto his feet, Centaurea thought, "And I will be the one who will turn you into a true noble knight worthy to be my master!" The centaur never realized that she was blushing with an adorably goofy smile on her face which was clear for everyone to see.

**Situation No.4: Invasion**

Shinobu frowned slightly as she spoke to Miia while tasting the lamia's cooking, "The stew is too thin, Miia-san."

Surprised, Miia argued, "But you said it was too thick before, "Shinobu-chan!"

"You added too much water into it, now it's more like a broth than a stew," explained Shinobu who had gotten comfortable enough with Miia to actually lecture her like a gentle reprimanding mother when it comes to cooking.

Ever since the monster girls started to live in Hinata House, Shinobu had gotten more confident as she looked up to Miia as a friendly rival in earning Keitaro's affections while Centaurea was a noble knight of an elder sister and Papi was like an adorably ditzy little sister despite her older age. That was not to say that Shinobu was unaware of all three monster girls having feelings for Keotaro though as she could see it as clear as day, especially when it comes to Centaurea who could not even hold onto Keitaro's hand without blushing. Despite the rivalry, Shinobu enjoyed their company as they, like her, cared for Keitaro's wellbeing as a person, who does admittedly have his clumsy moments which would often lead to easily-misunderstood situations. The fact that they would actually support her whenever she stood up in Keitaro's defence certainly boosted her confidence.

Unfortunately, Shinobu's newfound confidence was not without a price as she was not on very good terms with Naru and Motoko who did not favour her growing affection towards Keitaro and her friendly relationship with the monster girls who would often refuse to let them "deliver justice" upon Keitaro. The fact that she actually supported the monster girls in defending Keitaro only strained her relationship with Naru and Motoko further. Still, Shinobu did not feel too bad about it, which she did find surprising at first until she considered the fact that she was probably put off by Naru's and Motoko's irrationally aggressive natures after realizing that the monster girls were more often than not correct about Keitaro's frequent mishaps which were accidental on his part. As for her relationship with Mitsune and Suu, she was still on good terms with them although she does occasionally wonder if Mitsune was descended from an actual youko kitsune at times. Mitsune was certainly mischievous enough to be one, such as that incident when she deliberately allowed Keitaro to touch her breasts just to rile up Miia and Centaurea.

Unable to argue against the current "head-cook" of Hinata House, and wanting to improve her ability to cook which was honestly terrible before Shinobu started to teach her, Miia sighed with a disappointed pout before she noticed something odd inside her pot…

Scene Change

Everyone in Hinata House was on guard as the intruder, a blue-coloured slime with a green antenna that has an amber-yellow tip and green eyes, had somehow snuck into the inn and incapacitated Miia by smothering her head with its liquid body. While Miia was recovering under Shinobu's care, Keitaro and Centaurea searched for the intruder while Naru and Motoko did the same as a separate group. Wielding a wooden broadsword which he had been using to train with Centaurea, Keitaro asked, "So, any idea what the slime would be doing, Cerea-san?"

Frowning, Centaurea answered, "Considering that it was first found in Miia's stew and then fell into that basin of water, I'm guessing that it is drawn to water."

Hearing Centaurea's answer, Keitaro had a sudden idea as he asked, "Then wouldn't that mean that it would be…"

Scene Change

Both Centaurea and Keitaro were blushing as they saw a naked Mitsune, who was asleep after a long night of drinking at the time when the intruder first appeared in the kitchen and was thus unaware of the danger, being molested by the slime while it absorbed any water present on her skin, a situation not helped by the fact that she was bathing in the hot spring at the time. Quickly blocking Keitaro's line of sight, Centaurea cried, "Master, please avert your eyes from this… this indecency!"

Unable to resist the physical pleasure she was unwillingly experiencing from the slime which seemed to know all of her "sweet spots", Mitsune inwardly wept in shame as she whimpered before finally passing out with a loud immodest moan, "Please… don't look!"

Scene Change

"Suu's not a bad person!" exclaimed Papi who was presently protecting the slime which now had a humanoid form of a girl around Shinobu's age.

Scratching the back of his head, Keitaro replied, "But she caused us a lot of trouble." Mitsune in particular nodded her head in vehement agreement as she was still feeling humiliated by what the slime had done to her.

"But everyone here causes trouble!" argued Papi.

Hearing Papi's argument, Keitaro, Shinobu, Miia, Centaurea, and even Mitsune had the decency to be sheepish as they knew that the harpy actually had a point. Holding onto Suu like a protective mother or older sister, Papi proclaimed, "Papi will protect Suu!"

Thankfully enough, the matter was soon resolved as Ms Smith refused to deal with the slimy invader, which was a formerly-unknown type of monster, and would not take action as long as Suu behaves herself. That said, she did make sure to inform Hinata about it and the elderly woman saw no reason to kick out the child-like slime.

**Situation No.5: Spider's Parlour**

Keitaro sighed as he thought about his recent conversation with the newcomer of the inn, an arachne named Rachnera Arachnera. Having the lower body of a spider with the upper body of a beautiful young woman with pale hair, three pairs of monochromatic crimson-red eyes, and clawed arms, Rachnera was forced to live as a fugitive for a time as her host family basically threw her out into the streets before she was placed as a member of Hinata House. As much as Keitaro did not want to believe in her harsh words, he understood that she had a point and, more importantly, knew that she spoke out of her own painful experience when it came to broken promises and was concerned for him, one of the very few humans that she trusts after suffering her ordeal.

"_While I admire your desire to fulfil your part of the promise, there is no guarantee that you will be together with your Promise Girl even if you do somehow manage to get yourself into Toudai. You have already failed twice, never mind the fact that you do not remember her name and that you made that promise with her while you were both very young. There are far too many ways which will make it impossible for your promise to her to be fulfilled, and I can easily think of three ways without even trying. Firstly, she may, like you, forget about the promise or at least a part of it and, like it or not, will not feel obligated to fulfil that promise with you. The second scenario would be her already attending Toudai, but not waiting for you to join her since you already failed twice, trice if you fail again. As for the third scenario, who's to say that she would not grow up into someone who does not care for you, or someone that you could not love, even if she does remember about the promise?"_

Recalling Rachnera's words, Keitaro sighed forlornly as he stared at the tombstone of his late grandfather, Urashima Arashi. Although he had never met the man who passed away while he was still a baby, he had heard from Hinata that he was a kind and honourable person who values the fulfilment of promises and the fair treatment of others. It could be said that he was Hinata's favourite grandchild as he was similar to Arashi in that particular regard, in addition to having a strong resemblance to his great-grandfather who was also Hinata's father. Feeling the need to talk about his currently-conflicted feelings, Keitaro said, "Hello grandpa, it has been a while since my last visit." Feeling a little foolish as he was talking to a tombstone rather than a living individual, Keitaro nevertheless continued to speak about his current lifestyle as a manager of the Hinata House, his desire to fulfil his promise to his Promise Girl, and about his current relationships with the girls, both human and monster, that live in the inn…

Scene Change

While Keitaro spoke to the tombstone, Miia, Papi, Centaurea, Suu, Rachnera, and Shinobu were spying on him as they were suspicious about him wanting to be by himself for the day. Although some of the girls felt bad about spying onto Keitaro once they realized his intentions, Rachnera persuaded them to stick around for a bit as she weaved some silk so that she can overhear his conversation with the inanimate object, "… to be perfectly honest, I had a bit of hard time during my first week as the manager of the inn. Granted, even I know that I'm a guy who's not supposed to be in an all-girl's dorm, and that I had lied to them about me being a Toudai student due to a misunderstanding, but that didn't change the fact that they had been really harsh on me, especially on my first day as the manager. Then, not long after Shinobu's birthday, those renovators dropped by and started to renovate the inn in preparation for Miia, our very first monster girl tenant. As for how she became our tenant, it turned out that Granny Hina somehow heard about her problems in getting herself a host family for the exchange program because she's a lamia so she decided to allow Miia to become a tenant at Hinata House instead. That was probably one of the best thing that Granny Hina had done for me. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against the original tenants, especially Shinobu-chan and even Naru-san, but the girls who had been really kind to me lately are mostly monster girls, including Rachnera-san."

Not expecting Keitaro to actually claim that she had been kind to him, Rachnera blushed bashfully as Keitaro explained, "I mean, sure she likes to tease me just as badly as Mitsune-san, if not even worse, but she's actually a good girl deep down and made sure that I don't get into trouble because of her actions. That aside, I do sometimes worry if she'll actually… well… you know…" Rachnera smiled impishly as she knew what Keitaro was implying, and was not ashamed to admit that she had enjoyed teasing him in rather inappropriate ways.

Sighing, Keitaro then said, "Well, speaking about Rachnera, she's actually part of the reason why I'm here right now. You see, recently she told me that I shouldn't place all of my hopes and efforts into fulfilling my dream of attending Toudai with a girl that I had promised with a long time ago. Granted, it's not as bad as telling me that I should just give it up altogether but, as much as I don't want to admit it, she actually raised a few good points and I'm a bit at a loss at the moment. Granny Hina always said that you value promises but… what if I still can't be together with my Promise Girl even after I somehow succeed in attending Toudai? What if we were not meant to be even after everything I had endured and sacrificed for the sake of being together with her? Would I even have the courage to keep moving forward should that happen?" Rachnera's concern was apparent as she realized that her words had a harsher effect on Keitaro's heart than she had expected. She had only wanted him to not be blind to the possibilities of his promise ending badly, not make him doubt himself and consider his efforts to be a complete waste, especially since it was his past actions if not mistakes which ultimately allowed him to become her manager and host, never mind being the one of the very first few humans to be truly kind to her.

Taking a deep breath, Keitaro then said, "No, I shouldn't let myself think that way. Even if my attempt to fulfil my promise to her ends in failure, I still have people who care for me and depend on me. I will still do everything I can to attend Toudai, even if only to prove that even a failure of a loser like me and achieve great things in life. But, in the event that I still cannot be together with that Promise Girl, I will continue moving forward with my life and find my happiness with those that do care for me. I can only hope that they are willing to be patient enough to let me succeed in fulfilling my promise of attending Toudai and find the Promise Girl, and that those who had hoped that I would be able to fulfil my promise with her would forgive me for letting her go should I fail to be with her even after becoming a Toudai student."

Hearing Keitaro's unexpectedly brave and wise words, Rachnera blushed with a slight flutter in her heart as she thought, "Perhaps… he's not that much of an adorably helpless fly after all…" Seeing Rachnera's expression made the others girls realize that she had officially become their rival, and not just someone who enjoys teasing Keitaro. When Rachnera later told them about Keitaro's brave words, they all understood why as their respect and affection towards Keitaro only grew.

**Situation No.6: Drifting Apart**

Naru was frowning when she saw Keitaro return from grocery shopping with Shinobu and Centaurea, who was actually wearing saddlebags on her equine lower body to carry the groceries, while Miia, Papi, Suu and Rachnera welcomed them back warmly. She was startled when a voice suddenly asked, "Feeling left out, hun?"

Turning around to see Mitsune at the door into her room, Naru frown deepened into a scowl as she bitterly spoke, "Not really, those monsters can keep that idiot all to themselves for all I care!"

"So says the girl who became Keitaro's study-buddy even before those monster girls came to Hinata House, never mind the fact that she was initially against our idea of kicking him out even if only for a short while," thought Mitsune who spoke, "And what about Shinobu?"

"What about her? It's not like she'll actually listen to Motoko and I ever since she became friends with them, not that it will matter since she'll one day realize just how wrong she is once that perverted idiot shows her his true colours!"

Hearing Naru's seemingly confident statement, Mitsune inwardly sighed as she asked, "If what you say is really true, then why did you volunteer to help him study for his entrance exams to get into Toudai?"

Blushing, Naru quickly said, "T-that's because I feel sorry for the idiot! I mean, we all know just what kind of a loser he is!"

"I admit, he isn't exactly a born-winner but, if he was really that much of an unlikable loser, then why is he now surrounded by girls that actually like him, even if most of them are not human?" asked Mitsune who was well aware that Naru was trying to hide her real feelings for Keitaro.

Growing frustrated, Naru shouted, "That's because they probably can't find any other human man who's willing to put up with them! I mean, we all know that Miia crushes Keitaro whenever she hugs him too tightly, Papi is a bird-brain who sometimes forgets things after taking just three steps, Centaurea has her weird obsession with honour as a knight which makes her obligated to actually protect him of all people, Suu was not even supposed to be here, and Rachnera… do I really need to explain how most people don't like overgrown spiders?!"

Shocked by Naru's unexpectedly cruel outburst, Mitsune prayed that none of the monster girls had heard her, and that Naru did not really mean what she had just said, as she asked, "And what does that make Keitaro who puts up with them?"

Huffing, Naru said, "Simple, a perverted idiot so desperate that he'll willingly screw with a girl that's not even human!"

Hearing Naru's harsh words, which were obviously fuelled by suppressed emotions which were mainly jealousy and hurt due to feeling left out rather than rational thought, Mitsune sighed and said, "Naru, you of all people should know that isn't true. If it was, you wouldn't even think about helping him attain his dream of getting into Toudai. As for him putting up with the monster girls, do you really think that he hadn't been putting up with us, human girls, too?"

Surprised by Mitsune's unexpected query, Naru asked, "What do you mean by him putting up with us? Shouldn't it be us putting up with a pervert like him?"

Seeing that Naru was either unaware or was unwilling to acknowledge her past misdeeds, Mitsune said, "Naru, in case you didn't notice, your punches can send people flying never mind Motoko's disdain for men in addition to her upbringing as a demon-slaying samurai. Regardless of whether Keitaro is really a bad person or not, do you really think that a person who lacks persistence, patience, or even courage will allow himself to risk getting attacked by the two of you on a daily basis, and keep on coming back to us regardless? And don't think that I've forgotten how we once tried to kick him out by mistreating him. We didn't even let him eat decent food despite treating him like a slave for heaven's sake!"

Not expecting Mitsune's argument, Naru sputtered, "S-since when did you start caring for that idiot?"

"Sooner than you expected apparently," replied Mitsune who recalled how Keitaro always seemed so relaxed and happy when together with the monster girls and Shinobu, at least when he's not in an uncomfortable situation with any one of them such as being caught in Rachnera's webbing. As much as Mitsune did not like to admit it, seeing him interact with the monster girls and Shinobu made her realize that the way most of the human girls had mistreated him during his first few days as the manager of the inn was even worse than expected in spite of his persistence and forgiving nature.

Hearing Mitsune's confession, Naru grew upset as she felt betrayed by her as she asked, "If that's the case, then why didn't you try to protect him like Shinobu does?"

"At first I didn't really bother to try because I found it funny when I see you and Motoko try to get past Miia and the other monster girls to attack Keitaro, which also made it seem unnecessary for me to get myself involved especially once Shinobu had started to follow their example. Besides, even if I did try, would you and Motoko have actually bothered to listen to me unless I actually stand in your way?" asked Mitsune who inwardly admitted, "And I certainly didn't want to risk getting punched by you, even if by accident, if I can avoid it!"

Mitsune's question silenced Naru as she knew already the answer. One of the main reasons why they would actually hesitate whenever the monster girls stood up in Keitaro's defence was because attacking them would get them into trouble with the authorities responsible for managing the exchange program between humans and monsters. The other reason would be the simple fact that every single one of the monster girls was capable of defending themselves and Keitaro from physical harm in one way or another whenever necessary. Just the other day, Suu actually protected a little girl by morphing herself into a ball of slime around her and cushioned what would have been a fatal collision by a large truck. That was not counting Rachnera who could use her silk to restrain anyone that tried to attack Keitaro or Centaurea who is a western swordswoman. Nevertheless, Naru was unwilling to be in the wrong as she tried to defend her own actions, "But… he…"

"Naru, has Keitaro been spending time with your just for the sake of it lately?"

Although it was true that Keitaro did have added responsibilities as the manager of an inn which now has monster girls in addition to its original human occupants, even Naru knew that Keitaro had been growing distant with her of late as they both only regularly spend time together while in cram school and studying together to become Toudai students. Granted, Keitaro had never tried to avoid her and was still friendly with her, but he had been spending more time with the monster girls than Naru had liked regardless of his responsibility as their host and manager, never mind how he seemed to be enjoying their company. Naru's reluctance to answer Mitsune's question was an obvious answer by itself as Mitsune spoke to her, "Naru, as your best friend, I think that you should make amends with him and at least try to change the way you're treating him."

"W-why should I?" asked Naru. In truth, she already knew the answer but her pride made her unwilling to fully accept it.

"Because if you don't, you'll probably end up losing him," said Mitsune who then added before Naru could argue, "In case you haven't noticed, every single one of those monster girls and even Shinobu care for him openly. So unless you really don't have any feelings for him, you'll need to let him know that you actually care for him as well." Mitsune knew that Naru actually cared for Keitaro, and probably even has romantic feelings for him, but she also knew Naru's present attitude towards Keitaro as well as her denials of having any deeper feelings for him will only push him away towards those that actually knew how to treat him properly. Also, giving Keitaro the cold shoulder without letting him know the real reason behind it will only worsen her relationship with him. What kind of friend would Mitsune be if she did not at least try to warn Naru about it?

Hearing Mitsune's answer, Naru was unable to look at her in the eyes as she spoke, "I… got to get back to studying. I'll see you later at dinnertime."

Not surprised by Naru's reply, as it was one of her more likely responses, Mitsune sighed and thought, "Naru, if only you could stop denying your own feelings of affection towards Keitaro." As Mitsune left Naru's room, she never noticed Naru's sad expression as she gazed longingly upon the hole which connected her room to Keitaro's room.

**Scenario No.7: Feverish Swordsmanship**

Motoko was about to reach the rooftop to do her daily training when she suddenly heard, "Somebody, help me!"

Motoko's eyebrow twitched in irritation as she knew who was crying for help as a frantic Keitaro was currently being chased by a volley of ten tennis balls which seemed to be homing onto him like guided missiles. Controlling those balls was a gleeful Rachnera who was using her silk to manipulate them like a puppet master. Needless to say, the sight was quite comical as Rachnera spoke in amusement while easily keeping up with Keitaro due to her superior speed, "Come now, surely you can defend yourself from an attack of this level?"

"You promised to go easy on me, not use all ten balls at once!" exclaimed a protesting Keitaro as he dodged and deflected as many of the balls with his wooden sword as he could. Motoko, in spite of her aloof disdain towards him and the monster girls, decided to quietly observe the scene without their knowing and realized that Keitaro was showing a surprising amount of skill.

Shrugging, Rachnera replied, "So I used a little too many balls for your very first training session with me. It's not like it would kill someone with a body like yours to push past your limits every now and again."

"That's not the point!" cried Keitaro as he continued to defend himself from her incoming attacks. His words fell onto deaf ears as Rachnera increased the rate of her attacks until Keitaro could no longer keep up with her and was pummelled by the balls under her control. However, she was kind enough to restrain the strength of her attacks so that he only suffered mild bruising as opposed to any actual injury.

Seeing the exhausted and beaten Keitaro who was brought down to his knees with his sword supporting him, Rachnera's smiling expression became downright predatory as she considered taking Keitaro away and having her way with him. However, her plans were swiftly foiled when Shinobu, who was armed with a medical kit, immediately rushed to Keitaro alongside with Miia as they both cried, "Sempai/Darling!"

Though not as upset as Shinobu or Miia, Centaurea glared at Rachnera and said, "Rachnera-san, did you honestly have to use all of those balls at once?"

"Well, in my defence, he did manage to last longer than I expected," replied Rachnera who obviously did not regret her actions as she added, "And don't tell me that you weren't impressed by that."

Blushing, Centaurea said, "Alright, I admit that he did show impressive agility, skill, and endurance for lasting as long as he did, but you still went too far. What if you had actually hurt him?"

Waving her hand dismissively, Rachnera cheerfully said, "Please, compared to Miia's hugs and Naru's punches, this is practically peanuts to him."

Unable to deny Rachnera's logic, Centaurea nevertheless said, "Be as it may please exercise restraint next time."

Meanwhile, as Centaurea and Rachnera had their mild argument, Motoko was gaping with a blush on her face as she saw Keitaro take off his shirt so that Miia and Shinobu and treat his relatively mild injuries. Before Centaurea trained him, Keitaro was a weak-bodied nerd of a rounin. However, after his training, she could not help but notice that his body had actually gotten pleasantly fit with a lean frame. While Keitaro's body was by no means a paragon of physical fitness, the fact that his body had even managed to develop as well as it did was a shock by itself to Motoko who was convinced that he would always be a weak male despite Centaurea's training and encouragement. Realizing that she was actually starting to admire the changes, especially the slight tones of his muscles, Motoko mentally berated herself as she quickly left the scene.

Scene Change

Motoko was trying to calm her thought through meditation but was failing miserably as she thought, "Why can't I get the image of his trained body out of my mind?!" Resisting the urge to slam her head against something hard to banish the persistent thought, Motoko decided to just take a bath and try to forget about it. However, her trip to the hot spring was unexpectedly difficult for her as she was unusually clumsy for a trained swordswoman…

Scene Change

"Damn it, why is my heart pounding so much?" thought Motoko whose face was now bright-red and was still unable to take her mind off Keitaro's trained body. "Granted, I had spent all of my time training and he's arguably the first man that I had ever interacted on a regular basis other than my family, but… wait… it can't be!"

Upon making her realization, and failing to deny the possibility, Motoko was furious as she loudly proclaimed, "No, I will never acknowledge that you're my first love, Urashima Keitaro!"

As if to prove that life itself is ironic by nature, Miia, Centaurea, and Shinobu all appeared at the entrance into the hot spring and exclaimed in unison, "Who's your first love?!"

Following the three were Papi, Suu and Kaolla Suu who had just spent the day playing together, and Rachnera who wore an amused expression as she asked, "Oh, did I just hear that you actually have an interest on Honey?"

Humiliated, Motoko decided the on only course of action which she could think of, other can committing ritual suicide…

Scene Change

Keitaro was scratching the back of his head sheepishly as he easily defended himself from Motoko who demanded a duel with him, and actually had a bad cold due to her habit of training her swordsmanship even when exposed to rain. Despite her apparent defeat, Motoko was grateful that her blushing and the uneasy feeling in her chest after seeing Keitaro's trained body were caused by a simple cold as opposed to actually developing any feelings for him. However, the revelation was not quite as reassuring for Shinobu, Miia, Centaurea, and even Naru, who were convinced that Motoko was starting to develop feelings for Keitaro, even if only slightly. Sharing their opinion, Mitsune was grinning like a well-fed fox as she knew that the entertaining insanity in Hinata House has grown.

Scene Change

Keitaro was running for his dear life as he was being chased by Motoko who demanded a rematch soon after she recovered. Seeing the pair running around in circles, with Motoko attacking with her Ki attacks while Keitaro defended himself with his own surprisingly impressive defensive skills, Centaurea scratched her cheek as she asked, "Is it bad for me to want to just sit back and watch them go at it?"

Grinning, Rachnera said, "Are you kidding? This is better than most movies!"

Mitsune, who had recently gotten along with Rachnera, was also grinning as she drank some beer and said, "I'd second that, sister!"

**Scenario No.8: Surprise Visit**

It was not long after Keitaro, to his great joy, actually managed to pass the test required for him to take the Toudai entrance exams when Hinata House had an unexpected visitor. Nearly everyone that was human was shocked when they saw the little elderly lady appear at Hinata House alongside with a gothic-looking young woman with dark hair. Considering that Urashima Hinata had made a surprise visit at Hinata House alongside with Keitaro's younger sister, Urashima Kanako, their shock was understandable, especially since they were both being escorted by Sumike and her special squad of monster women known as MON. Making up the team was a cyclops named Manako, a huge but pretty and mild-mannered ogre named Tionishia, a stitched-up and hot-blooded zombie named Zombina, and a perpetually-nude shape-shifting doppelganger named Dopple.

The first to recover was Keitaro as he greeted Hinata, "Grandma, I thought that you were still on your world trip!"

Chuckling, Hinata explained, "Well, there had been a slight change in plans, my dear grandson. You see, after hearing so much about your time with those monster girls at Hinata House from Haruka-chan, I decided to cancel my trip around the human world, and visit the monster world instead!" Hearing Hinata's proclamation, and well-aware of her adventurous nature, everyone who knew her personally quickly understood her reasoning as the elderly woman continued to explain, "Of course, it would take a while to have my trip to the monster world approved even though I'm friends with Sumike's boss, so I decided to return back here and enjoy the comforts of home for a while before I start my on new adventure. Besides, it just won't do if I never show my face to the new residents, no?"

Happy to see his grandmother, a sentiment he shared with the other human girls of Hinata House, Keitaro smiled as he hugged her and said, "Welcome back, grandma."

Returning Keitaro's hug, Hinata replied warmly in kind, "It's good to be back, Keitaro-chan."

Scene Change

Not surprisingly, a party was soon held to celebrate Hinata's temporary return to Hinata House and Sumike alongside with the rest of her small squad were invited to join. Of course, Sumike and her squad were more than happy to join despite being Hinata's escorts for her brief period at Hinata House.

Even before the party started, Hinata spoke to Miia, Papi, Centaurea, Rachnera and even Suu and was glad that they had adapted well to the place thanks to Keitaro. Despite having already heard about the monster girls' affections towards Keitaro, Hinata was still quite surprised that her grandson, who had never been very popular with girls prior to becoming the manager of Hinata House, had actually gained what some would call a harem of monster girls, with at least one token human girl if Shinobu is anything to go by. Hearing about Keitaro taking up western swordsmanship, and being trained by Centaurea and Rachnera while Motoko would regularly duel with him, Hinata smiled as she always knew that he had an impressively large reserve of Ki stored within his body, which explained his durability and endurance when it came to physical attacks and Ki attacks.

Hinata was a little saddened when she realized that Naru did not get along well with the monster girls. Even Motoko had been becoming more civil and less aloof towards them ever since she came to terms with the fact that Keitaro could actually improve himself. Granted, Keitaro would always lose to her, Centaurea and Rachnera whenever they sparred, but even Motoko could not deny that Keitaro had been getting better at defending himself from their attacks and that his durability did make up for his lack of talent, if not actual reluctance, in fighting back. Nevertheless, Motoko was still in denial over her feelings towards Keitaro, much like Naru who was considerably more vocal about it. As much as Hinata wanted to help the two young women, she knew only they can fully accept their own feelings towards Keitaro, something which the monster girls and even the once-shy Shinobu had no trouble in expressing, albeit in their own quirky ways. "I better have a word with Naru-chan and Motoko-chan about their relationships with Keitaro and the monster girls before I leave for my next adventure," thought Hinata.

While Hinata had a generally good opinion of the monster girls, Kanako's opinion about them were not as good, especially after she heard about their "Lunacy Incident" during a full moon which caused her elder brother a considerable amount of physical pain. Nevertheless, she was willing to admit that the monster girls were at least less cruel to Keitaro than Motoko and Naru even if only because they are much less likely to attack him out of vindictive spite. Admittedly, Keitaro's relationship with Naru and even Motoko was certainly gotten better than during his first few days as the manager, but that did not mean that Kanako can easily forgive them for their cruelty towards her brother. Mitsune was also on her list while Shinobu and Kaolla were spared if only because they were the least cruel towards Keitaro and were among the first few to accept him as a person instead of a "vile male". Still, even Kanako had to admit that having the monster girls around was ultimately a good thing for Keitaro, if not for the simple fact that Kanako actually loves him more than just as a brother and did not appreciate the added competition.

Scene Change

Naru sighed as she recalled her last conversation with Hinata who, while happy that she is helping her grandson get into Toudai, also made it clear that she should be more willing to admit her true feelings towards Keitaro. To be fair, Naru had been trying to be friendlier with Keitaro but seeing him get along with the monster girls would always make her upset at both him and the said monster girls. When Hinata heard about Naru's complaints about the monster girls hogging all of Keitaro's attention when he should be more worried about entering Toudai, Hinata was actually amused as she asked if Naru was actually jealous of them getting Keitaro's affections. Of course, Naru vehemently denied having any feelings for Keitaro but Hinata was obviously not convinced if her grandmotherly teasing had indicated anything.

Looking heavenwards towards the night sky, Naru thought, "Well, I can't deny that I get upset when Keitaro is paying attention to those monster girls and that it would make people think that I'm being possessive of him, but that's not really case, right?" Thinking about her past interactions with Keitaro, and knowing that he was one of the very few males whom she had any positive interaction with, and how he had been spending less time with her ever since the monster girls started living at Hinata House, Naru sighed as she mentally thought, "Who am I kidding, of course it is." Naru then recalled Hinata's parting advice, "Naru, I know that you have trouble expressing yourself to my grandson, not only because you had hardly interacted with boys of your age but also because of the fact that your father had left you and your mother behind while you were still young and that your mother had eventually remarried with another man. But, I believe that Keitaro does care for you even if you do not believe in it yourself. Have faith in his good nature and do not be intimidated by the fact that he has the affections of those monster girls who are more willing to admit their feelings towards him."

Thinking over Hinata's advice, Naru took a deep breath and smacked her cheeks before wearing a determined expression as she thought, "I'll make it clear that I do care for that idiot, and that he does not forget about his promise of entering Toudai." Naru would soon realize that she was not the only human girl, other than Shinobu who had clearly expressed her feelings towards Keitaro, who would admit to him that they care for him.

Scene Change

Keitaro was feeling tremendously stressed as he recalled what had happened on the night before Hinata left for her new adventure. Not only was he already well-liked by the monster girls and Shinobu, but Naru, Motoko, and even Mitsune recently admitted that they cared for him in ways that may be more than just platonic. That was not even counting his sister, who revealed that she was actually adopted into his family and was therefore not related by blood, who proclaimed that she loves him and that she would not let him be claimed by any other girl, be it human or monster. There was Kaolla Suu but he felt quite certain that she only thinks of him as an elder brother rather than as a love interest. Needless to say, some of the monster girls and Shinobu were unhappy at the fact that they now had even more rivals than before.

For a young man who had, until recently, never really received such positive attention from girls, Keitaro was understandably getting a little overwhelmed by the revelation. Granted, Naru having feelings for him would explain why she was getting upset with him as he had been spending time with the monster girls lately, and he had not forgotten her kindness in helping him study to get into Toudai. It would also explain Motoko's recent behaviour towards him as she had been sparring with him a lot lately rather than train by herself, although she did admit that trying to get a good hit on him, as well as sparring with Centaurea and Rachnera, was surprisingly good training.

Sighing, Keitaro thought, "And here I was thinking that getting into Toudai to meet the Promise Girl would be the biggest of my problems!" Granny Hina's parting advice for her grandson was certainly not helping as he recalled her cheeky words, "I'm expecting some cute great-granddaughters, and maybe even more than one granddaughter-in-law, from you, Keitaro-chan!" The fact that Hinata made that statement in front of all of the girls in Hinata House, both human and monster, only aggravated the poor ronin even more as he comically groused, "Give me a break already!"


End file.
